Toy vehicle



Aug. 31, 1937. H ULLER ,0 ,87

TOYVEHiCLE Filed May 20, 19 36 I/vvE To/:

TOY VEHICLE Heinrich Miiller, Nuremberg, Germany Application May20, 1936, Serial No. 80,850 In Great Britain April 22, 1936 1 Claim.

This invention relates to toy vehicles andmore particularly to' clockwork-driven toy vehicles constructed in the form ofa so-called turning toy or vehicle. I

A particular feature of. suchturning toys or vehicles consists therein that the vehicle moves on a running surface supported thereon at three points, of which two are represented by a pair of rear-wheels while the front part of the vehicle is supported on said running surface only at a'third or front supporting point or wheel.

Intermediate said pair of rear-wheels and said third supporting point or wheel there is further provided at the under part of the toy-vehicle a turning wheel normally out of contact with said running surface and coming in contact therewith, whenever said front supporting point or wheel is moving beyond the running surface. In this latter case the turning wheel will represent said third point of support and act asa guide member for the turning motion now imparted to the toy vehicle in co-operation with one or both of. said rear-wheels, said turning motion being continued until said front part of the vehicle is again turned onto the running surface, whereupon normal travel established.

I According to my invention the toy vehicle is equipped with three rumiing wheels representing during normal travel the said three supporting points. of these three wheels two are rear wheels positioned on different sides of the longitudinal central axis of the toy body, while the third is a front wheel positioned essentially in said axis. Besides said three running wheels there. is provided a fourth wheel, viz. the tumwill again be ing wheel which is rotatable about an axle directed obliquely to said longitudinal central axis.

torcycle may be merely simulated byiixediy Said fourth or turning wheel, moreover, is positioned preferably on that side towards which the turning motion of the toy shall take place.

As the two rear wheels of which one or both are driven by the spring-actuated clockwork can be mounted in the base plate of the toy vehiclein a manner-t0 be but little or hardly visible, there is provided the possibility of constructing the toy vehicle in the form of a motorcycle together with a cyclist or driver sitting thereon, the front wheel proper of the motorcycle represe ting the aforesaid front supporting point or whe while the rear wheel proper of the mo- -connecting thesame to the body of the toy ve- :.hi ele.. a nd mountingitsomewhat. above the running surface; During running motion of; the

forming said front wheel or supporting point had lost its support on the runningsurface.

In the accompanying drawing which forms part of this specification my novel toy vehicle is shown in an exemplification, the new toy having the form of a motorcycle together with a cyclist or driver sitting thereon.

Fig. 1 is a side-view of the toy vehicle in the form of a motorcycle together with a cyclist thereon, Fig. 2 a top-view, partly in section, through the toy body showing the driving mechanism together with the supporting or turning wheel, and Fig. 3 a side-view similar to Fig. 1 with a part of the toy body broken away showing said driving mechanism and said supporting or running wheel likewise in side-view.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, a spring-actuated clockwork I provided with a winding stem I is mounted in the hollow body 6 of the toy vehicle, said body being composed of two lateral halves each being of the conformation of a shell. The axle 2 which is driven by said clockwork forms the axle proper for the one of the rear wheels 3, said one wheel 3 being fixedly connected to said-axle 2, while the other rear wheel 4 is loosely carried by said axle to be freely rotatable thereabout." The toy vehicle, accordingly, is further equipped with a rear wheel 3 which is driven one-sided by said clockwork I; The front supporting point of the toy vehicleis represented by the rotatable wheel 5 representing the front wheel of the motorcycle, the axle 'l of said wheel 5 being obliquely directed with respect to the longitudinal central axis of the toy body. Intermediate the axle lfor the rear wheels 3 and I and the axle 1 for the front wheel 5, there is provided at the under side of the toy body on thebase plate 9 thereof a freely rotatable supporting and turning wheel '8 "havingits axle i0 likewise obliquely directed with respect to said longitudinal central axis. Said supporting and turning wheel 8 which forms a guide member effecting the turning motionv of running surface, said wheels consisting of the two rear wheels 3 and [of which the wheel 3 acts driving, and the front wheel 5 positioned obliquely with respect to said former wheel, 5 while the wheel H which represents the rear wheel proper of the motorcycle is positioned somewhat above the running surface as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and thus acts neither as a driving nor as a running wheel. The rear wheel i I, there- 20 fore, may be fixedly connected to the toy body as it never rotates during motion of the toy. During normal travel on the running surface, the toy vehicle will be supported at three supporting points represented by the wheels 3 and 4 and wheel 8 is out of contact with the running surface. If, however, the toy vehicle is travelling with its front wheel 5 beyond the edge if of the runningsurface, the front wheel 5 will lose its 30 support and simultaneously therewith the supporting and turning wheel 8 will come in rollingcontact with the running surface and effect the turning motion of the toy vehicle.' I

As the toy vehicle is driven one-sided by the 5 driving wheel 3 fixedly connected to the axle 2, the vehicle will perform a turning motion and again be turned back onto the running surface with the front wheel 5 again in contact therewith by action of said turning wheel l with the result that the toy vehicle will now continue to travel normally on the aforesaid three. supporting points represented by the wheels 3, l and 5.

Owing to the oblique arrangement of the axle The toy,- as had been explained in the foregoing, is run- 7 10 ning on three wheels in rollingcontact with the -'I of the front wheel 5, the travel of the toy vehicle is performed in circular direction and the front wheel I during returning of the vehicle onto the running surface will again be lifted above the edge I! of the running surface so that the toy vehicle will new again perform itsnormal travel on the three wheels 3, 4 and with the turning wheel liftedout of'contact with the running surface.

, The rear portion of the toy vehicle extends rearward of the wheels land 4, and owing to the fact that the wheel I I representing the rear wheel I proper of the motorcycle is out of contact with the running surface, said rear portion is of socalled overhung construction, that is in no way immediately supported on the running surface.

I claim! :s A- mechanical toy simulating a. two wheeled vehicle and comprising a body portion having a rotatable front wheel adapted to engages. supporting surface to support the front of the vehicle and a non-rotatable imitation rear wheel arranged close to but out of contact with-said surface, the' axis of rotation of said front wheel I 5 the wheel 5, while the laterally arranged turning being fixedly. mounted at anoblique angle to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, a pair of supporting wheels disposed between said front wheel and said imitation wheel and normally supporting the, rear portion of said toy, a clockwork carried by said body portionand. operatively connected to at least one of said supporting wheels to drive the toy, and a turning wheel disposed obliquely tothe longitudinal axis of the vehicle and arranged between saidv front wheel and said supporting wheels, said turning wheel being nor vmally put of contact with said supporting surface but being adapted to engage said surface when I said front wheel drops below the plane of said surface, thereby to change the'direction of travel of the toy and restore said front wheel in engagement with the surface.

. HEINRICH 

